It is estimated that over 100 Cofiwch Dryweryn murals have been created across Wales in recent weeks - and now one has even popped up in America.

The response to vandalism at the original wall in Ceredigion has seen replicas created in solidarity across the country.

Now a number of Welsh ex-pats have painted a wall in Chicago, Illinois.

Dave Parry, who is behind the Chicago mural, lived in Aberystwyth from 1984 to 1997 and still visits each year. He runs the Chicago Tafia - a group for Welsh people in Chicago.

He said: "Many in our Welsh group were annoyed by all the vandalism so thought about how could we show support. Luckily our friend Art Jackson at Pleasant House Pub offered space in his pub to do a mural.

"It's in an area of Chicago called Pilsen, which is famous for murals from many cultures. The reaction from Chicagoans at the bar yesterday was curiosity, and our group did a great job of explaining the significance and history of the sign.

"The locals we spoke with all thought it was great that we had brought this piece of Welsh culture to Chicago."

The slogan ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ was first etched on a wall in Ceredigion more than 50 years ago.

It was a powerful and poignant response to the loss of Capel Celyn, a village in the Tryweryn Valley.

People had lived and died there for generations, but in 1965 this Welsh village was lost forever when it was drowned by billions of litres of water.

Almost 70 residents of the village were forced to abandon their homes after the UK Government ratified plans to create a reservoir - Llyn Celyn - which would supply water to Liverpool and the Wirral in the north-west of England.

A chapel, a school and a dozen farms, all integral to a proud community, were all consigned to history.

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Since the mid-1960s, the words ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ have adorned the wall of a ruined cottage on the outskirts of Llanrhystud, south of Aberystwyth.

It has stood as a memorial to the lost village and as a homage to a Welsh-speaking community that was not so much thrown under the bus as thrown under the water.

The replica walls have been painted all over Wales in the past few weeks, in retaliation to separate acts of vandalism that have defaced the original monument.

The landmark has been subjected to various levels of defacement over the years, including in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014.

However, outrage seemed to reach fever pitch in February of this year when the wall, which was painted red with white coloured font, was smeared in black paint with the word Elvis written on top in white.

Within a day of the Elvis-themed graffiti appearing on the wall, a group of young people bought some paint and painted over it, restoring it to its previous state.

But earlier this month it was vandalised again, firstly with more paint and then, hours later, the top of the structure was knocked down, in an act described by a Dyfed-Powys Police Inspector as “mindless”.